Make sure to get your sweetheart the giant sized one. Otherwise, they'll think you don't take your relationship seriously.
via imgur
Make sure to get your sweetheart the giant sized one. Otherwise, they'll think you don't take your relationship seriously.
via imgur
Them Crooked Vultures make their debut with a post-Lollapalooza set.
By James Montgomery
<P>Officially, <a href="/news/articles/1617945/janes-addiction-killers-turn-up-heat-on-lollapaloozas-last-day.jhtml">Lollapalooza ended Sunday night</a> in Chicago's Grant Park, with dueling sets from <a href="/music/artist/killers_the/artist.jhtml">the Killers</a> and <a href="/music/artist/janes_addiction/artist.jhtml">Jane's Addiction</a>. Unofficially, it ended <i>very</i> early Monday morning, across town at venerable rock club the Metro, with a surprise show by Them Crooked Vultures.</P><P>To the unfamiliar, the Vultures might seem like an odd choice to close out Lolla weekend ... until you realize that they're made up of <a href="/music/artist/foo_fighters/artist.jhtml">Foo Fighters</a> frontman/ former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, <a href="/music/artist/queens_stone_age/artist.jhtml">Queens of the Stone Age</a> mastermind Josh Homme and <a href="/music/artist/led_zeppelin/artist.jhtml">Led Zeppelin</a> legend John Paul Jones. And their gig at the Metro was their world premiere.</P><P>According to <a href="http://blogs.suntimes.com/derogatis/2009/08/them_crooked_vultures_at_metro.html" target="_blank">some reports</a>, the Vultures actually turned <i>down</i> Lollapalooza founder Perry Farrell's request to replace the Beastie Boys as headliners at the festival, opting to debut in front of some 1,100 super-psyched fans at the Metro, rather than 75,000 in Grant Park (tickets for the gig were announced via Foo Fighter/ QOTSA fan clubs). Meaning that, in a lot of ways, this was the most sought-after ticket in town.</P><P>Taking the stage just after midnight, the Vultures — Grohl on drums (of course), Homme on guitar and vocals, Jones on bass and keys and frequent QOTSA contributor Alain Johannes on guitar — ripped through 12 songs in 80 minutes, all taken from their upcoming debut, which may or may not be called <i>Never Deserved the Future,</i> and may or may not be hitting stores on October 23 (early "promo" videos touting both those facts were revealed over the weekend to be hoaxes perpetrated by QOTSA fans).</P><P>The songs, with appropriately Homme-ian titles like "Scumbag Blues," "Mind Eraser (No Chaser)," "Caligulove" and "Interlude w/Ludes," sounded pretty much how you'd expect, given the band's pedigree. They rocked, hard — <a href="http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/turn_it_up/2009/08/concert-review-them-crooked-vultures-at-metro.html" target="_blank"><i>Chicago Tribune</i></a> critic Greg Kot described them as "fresh, invigorating and just plain nasty" — delving off into psychedelic, reverb-filled excursions and exploring proggy territory, "both of the old-school Yes variety, and the more modern Tool flavor," according to the <i>Chicago Sun-Times'</i> Jim DeRogatis.</P><P>It's not known if Monday's Metro performance was a one-off event for the Vultures — there have been whispers of a full-blown tour, but a spokesperson for Homme had not responded to MTV News' request for comment at press time. Nor was it clear whether or not they'll have an album out in October.</P><P>Early Monday, a <a href="http://twitter.com/crookedvultures" target="_blank">Crooked Vultures Twitter account</a>, which had previously posted links to the band's <a href="http://www.themcrookedvultures.com/" target="_blank">official-looking Web site</a> and the Metro's online ticketing site — posted a link to what appears to be the group's first bit of official merchandise: a <i>Deserve the Future</i> T-shirt. Cost: $30.</p>
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Looking 4 Myself single is about reaching 'a place where you're gonna dive in or let it go,' Usher explains on 'MTV First.'
By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Sway Calloway
<P><a href="http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/usher/artist.jhtml">Usher</a> admits that "over the last three years of my life, it's no secret I went through some heavy transitions." And he's not joking. In 2009, he filed for a <a href="/news/articles/1613894/usher-files-divorce.jhtml">divorce from his wife</a>, Tameka Foster, after <a href="/news/articles/1566367/usher-gets-married-after-all.jhtml">marrying her in 2007</a>. In the lead-up to the split, their relationship certainly came with drama, including a rift with his mother and a major health scare for Foster during a 2009 trip to Brazil.</P><P>And even with his divorce finalized, Usher is still in and out of court dealing with custody issues over their two sons, Usher and Naviyd. However, he is ready to put all that drama aside now that he's purged those emotions for his June 12 album release, the aptly titled <a href="/news/articles/1685178/usher-looking-4-myself.jhtml"><i>Looking 4 Myself</i></a>.</P><P>"There's an emotional side to it. Over the last three years of my life, it's no secret I went through some heavy transitions and in that I really came out new," he told MTV News during "MTV First." "I came out feeling a sense of entitlement and a sense of ownership of all of that I went through to become better and in being able to survive it.</P><P></p><div class="player-placeholder right" title="Usher Gets Shot In His 'Climax' Performance" id="vid:767991.id:1685137" width="415" height="255"></div><p></P><P>"So I was looking for something in the music," he continued. "I was looking for something in life. I was looking for something in it has always been right here. It has always been there. So I kind of used the music as a dairy in a way, but a creative, artistic, art-in-motion diary."</P><P>But, Usher is no stranger to putting his drama to music. With albums titled <i>Confessions</i> and <i>Raymond v. Raymond,</i> he has always put his personal business right where people can hear it.</P><P>"Oddly, I've unfortunately left my life an open book," he said. "So every record people would assume that each and every detail is specific, even the videos."</P><P>That includes his most recent clip for "Climax," which follows jilted lover Usher as he contemplates shooting his girl's other man. Soon, he charges in the house, and a gunshot is fired off. What's unclear is whether it's reality or just Usher's fantasy.</P><P>"OK, I'm not sitting out in front of somebody's house and shoot up the crib, just so you know," he joked. " 'Climax' was an interpretation to really give people a better understanding 'cause I felt like people really looked at the record for what you heard first, which was 'Climax'. So, people thought 'sex.' It's not about sex. Well, climax is about sex, but not the song. Just so we're clear."</P><P>The Diplo-produced track actually has more to do with the events of the last few years of his life than events in the bedroom. "The song is really about kind of the crescendo of a relationship, where you've reached a place where you're gonna dive in or let it go," he said. "And the 'Climax' is what it is."</p>
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